Who Needs a Knight in Shining Armor?
by v i i s i
Summary: BACK AFTER EDITING: Sango isn't a damsel in distress. Sesshoumaru isn't the prince he yearns to be. She's everything he hates. He's everything she doesn't want. So how are they stuck together? A prince, a princess, and a well-known little jewel.
1. Perlude: Streets

**Who Needs a Knight in Shining Armor?**

By viisi (formerly invisiblecows)

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**Disclaimer**: I do not own the characters, plot, setting, etc. of the title "Inuyasha". Those rights are in ownership of someone other than myself. Anything I get arrested for will certainly not be because of anything on this site.

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**A/N**: So – I decided to re-work this story after... a while. I changed my name to "v i i s i" because "visi" was already taken. That's my nickname. Yes, I do actually respond to it irl.

Anyways.

I wanted to edit and continue this story because after re-reading it, I felt it a little... lacking.

Plus I liked it.

So there.

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**Perlude**

**Streets**

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A parade in the streets. A prosperous town with lush green valleys and bustling gardens full of fresh food. A place a little ways from the ocean. A peaceful place that holds its own. A cozy castle overlooking this little place at the top of the cliff. A sunny day. A wonderful breeze.

Big fucking' whoop. (record screech)

Things were just the same as always to the girl with the sticky hands. Everyone in the little town knew her. Hell, the rumors about her plunders and skills spread as far as the mountains about weeks away. She stayed near the ocean on a cobblestone fence and sat, thinking.

She was the notorious thief around here.

There was no use in hiding things from her. She knew how to read people, how to pry things out of them, all with or without force.

But today she was just thinking. Even the greatest of thieves had to rest once in a while. Hell, she was still a growing girl at the age of seventeen. Her dark hair bounced in a ponytail along with that breeze. Her sharp, wide maroon eyes met with the ocean and the sky beyond it, lips torn in a slight frown. She looked... unsure of herself: in a nutshell. She rested on a roof in cloth shirt, pants, and boots. A rope was tied to her waist since a leather belt wasn't in her budget at the moment. She looked like any other villager.

Except for the blade tied to her leg and the one on her wrist.

She kept her weapon in clear view and well in distance of anyone just bending down and taking it. It was just in its sheath tied to her leg with bits and pieces of cloth. Was this just a way of bluffing? Telling people "don't mess with me or I'll slit your goddamn throat"? Or was she actually a skilled fighter?

Either way, people left her alone.

But, as previously said, there was a parade on the cobblestone streets of the small village being overlooked by a castle. That meant lots of people. Lots of perfect opportunities of pick pocketing. Besides, the girl thought it was pretty fun.

It wasn't like she was Robin Hood or anything. She just took what she needed to live...

... and then some.

It didn't hurt to be prepared for the future.

Apparently, the three princes in the castle were celebrating the eldest prince's engagement to a princess a little ways away. Jesters, fire breathers, knights, jousters, hell, everyone was crowded along the streets, being merry like little petty villagers do.

But the girl rolled her eyes at the festivities. Royalty was highly overrated. She clutched a pouch and tied it to her "belt". The inn owners and some other smart people were keeping an eye on her, more than used to her pick pocketing skills.

She just grinned at them and started her job.

She was ecstatic as the pouch got heavier and heavier.

But she paled as a child ran into the streets right in front of a carriage driven by huge white horses. Their hooves were bigger than the child's head.

The prince's carriage.

If the pouch hadn't been tied to her waist, the thief would have stolen all those coins for nothing since she full out darted into the streets and grabbed the child, and using the momentum, bursting back into the crowd with the child in her arms.

The girl scraped her arm, and then looked at the child. About seven. Dirty face. Even dirtier hair and a set of wide gray eyes.

"You OK?" She whispered to the child as a crowd gathered. A frantic cry and the sound of tapping feet were heard. A woman, the child's mother, knelt beside them, bombarding the thief with gratitude and tears.

"Thank you," the woman cried. "May I ask the name of my child's hero?"

"Hero?" She asked. "Me? I'm just a..." The woman's pleading face made the blood rush to her face. She looked away. "...It's Sango." She glanced back at the streets. The horses were startled and the men in fancy clothes were trying to calm them down. Two men were staring straight at her. One in silk and one in armor.

She gulped.

'Great,' she thought. 'I've pissed the Royal Pain in the Ass and his men off.'

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I'm done with the intro. I've got a little confrontation set up already. For those who have forgotten, it's a **San/Sess** fic. And Sesshoumaru isn't the prince, honestly. Sorry folks!


	2. Chapter One: Thief

**Who Needs a Knight in Shining Armor?**

By v i i s i (formerly invisiblecows)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the character, plot, settings, etc. of the title "Inuyasha". If anything lands me in jail, then it certainly won't be the interwebs.

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**A/N**: Yo. I'm trying to keep this like I did when I first published it. But a few changes will be made, and this may become more for mature readers. You know, who can handle boobs. Yes, you ten year old geeks, I'm talking to you (of course, I used to be the same. w).

Anyways. Sorry if I offend; it's just how I work. This is a pretty long chapter. Enjoy!

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**Chapter One**

**Thief**

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Instinct told her to run. The voices told her to just skip town and not get her head chopped off. Wait a minute, she realized. All she did was save a child's life! There was no need for them to be angry!

Soon as she blinked, the man in armor had her by the throat and lifted her in the air, a sword at his side.

"You could've killed his Majesty." He said coldly, golden eyes flashing. The man reminded the thief of a loyal lap dog. She glared at him.

"Look, I just saved the kid, nothing to be worked up about-

"Look? Look at those horses. The carriage could've run off into the crowd and crashed." The grip got tighter. She just clutched his wrist and felt cold steel. This man's whole arm was covered in sheets of the stuff. A crescent moon symbol was on his forehead, as well as streaks on his cheeks. He had silver hair, an unusual color, and a red cape draped his shoulders. A huge plate of metal hung off only one of his shoulders and the only thing that wasn't metal on his body was the leather belt, a cloth that hung from it, and his boots.

Yep, a knight in shining armor.

But Sango wasn't a damsel in distress.

"Are you finished?" Another voice sneered. The girl looked up at the prince. He was hidden but cloth hanging from carriage doors. She saw a ponytail like hers but the man's voice was more arrogant than the knight. Pompous- "We'll just go."

The knight just dropped Sango on her rear, and people just watched in shock as they just left. She never even got a second glance at the two from the castle. Her hand instinctively went to her belt. She blinked.

Her pouch was gone.

"What the hell!" She screeched and glared after the silhouette of the knight and the prince. She ran after them, leaving villagers staring after her. The horses gained speed, and the young girl started to fall behind. Luck would have it that she latched onto the back of the wooden frame and climbed under it, hanging onto less than sturdy wooden bars that supported the whole carriage. Sango could have fallen at any time.

She could hear voices above her.

"...They say she's disappeared."

"So?"

"With the Jewel, no less!"

"I have it. I got it back from her. Should we search for her?"

"Miroku says to lay low. Don't bother her. I don't care if she's his betrothed. She's nothing but a wench."

"Hn."

"What is it?"

"Someone's listening to us." Sango stiffened right then and there. She was dealing with a demon, she realized. A DEMON! _Damn, why didn't I notice it earlier?_ She thought. _Should've known by the marks._

They were at the gates of the castle. The hairs at the back of her neck started to rise- at that moment she felt someone grab her arm. The girl was jerked from under the carriage and thrown onto a hard patch of dirt.

"You again." She looked up, seething at the man who had pinned her down so.

"Yes, me," she spat. "You'll do well to give back what's mine!"

"How much did you hear?" That hand at her throat again.

"Almost all of it." Sango replied. As he unsheathed his sword, the man dangled the girl in the air like a rag doll. He tried to run the blade through her, but she bent down and pulled the dagger from its sheath and steel met steel. But he kicked her feet and sent her down, and he caught her blade. He just stared at her.

"You won't tell anyone what you heard." He replied. She blinked and gave him an unsettling look. He was letting her go? Maybe she had proved she was powerful, she thought. No. Another insight told her that she wasn't worth his time.

"I'm a thief, not a snitch," she put a hand to her hips and held out her gloved one. "Now, my blade, if you don't mind." He stared at her, a cold glare sending holes in her face.

"... I think I'll keep it." She didn't even see his mouth move.

"Excuse me?" She growled, half tempted to unsheathe her other blade.

"You heard me, thief. Now leave before I kill you."

"But... that's..."

"Spit it out," he spat at her. Sango stared at him a moment, and then her movements were like water. All he saw was one step, and suddenly he found the blades in his hands gone. "Witch," he barked. "What did you just do? Don't try to play mind games, they won't work with me."

"Mind games?" She laughed. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm a thief, nothing more! All I did was take a few steps. How does a trade sound?" She started waving the sword around like a ninny.

"There are thousands like that in the castle." His eyes widened slightly as she held up a golden chain with a locket on it.

"I'd call you a girly boy for having something like this." She smiled subtly, eyes full of mischief.

"I believe you just did."

She just grinned.

"Look, that blade's important to me, so _may I_ have it back?"

"..."

She didn't notice the prince looking at her. He had a high ponytail like Sango's. Ice blue eyes. Eyes that told him apart from his brothers. Prince Kouga. He pulled out a well-hidden dagger and crept towards the both of them.

"Or should I look in here?" She held up the locket.

"No."

"What is this 'no' you speak of?" She smirked as he threw the blade at her, but her ears perked up as she heard footsteps behind her. The girl simply sidestepped as the prince's blade hit the dirt. It seemed like child;s play as she kicked the blade away. "Wow, this is important stuff, huh? I only heard bits and pieces. Maybe I can help."

The knight's and the prince's ears seemed to tweak.

"Hey, I'm a thief. I can help find this so-called Miroku's 'betrothed wench'." She saw the prince smirk.

"Yes." "No." The two men said at once. Sango smirked and waved her hand in that no-no fashion.

"You should listen to your prince," she nagged at the knight. "'Kay, Mr. Knight?"

"I still say no. I don't associate with thieves. And I will not allow His Majesty to, either."

"Is he always this... this... much of an asshole?" She asked Kouga in a whisper. Her cocky side was emerging. It got her in quite the perdicaments most of the time. The prince laughed at this and headed into the carriage. Both men left at that instant. She blinked and stood there for a while. Was she helping? Should she follow?

After a moment...

"Hey! His locket!" She remembered. She shrugged. "Oh well," she put it around her neck as she traded back to her home. She seemed to walk for hours. As twilight approached, she could see the rooflines of some houses.

As the girl stood at the edge of the village, she was deep in thought. What a trip. What a day. 'Would it hurt to look inside of it?' She thought. 'No. I shouldn't. It's girly boy's... Er, Mr. Knight's.' Her fingers shook against the smooth gold. She'd return it, she vowed. Even if she looked inside.

And she did just that.

Her eyes widened.

"Shit."

She ran toward the castle...

... after stealing a loaf of bread from a stand and gulfing that down.

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Sesshomaru just stood outside the huge walnut door. He gazed at the marble tiles with a slight furrow in his brow. How did he forget about that locket? If that girl sold it, then he'd never ever get it back.

Never.

He hated thieves. Pure hate. His gaze left the floor and out the window. Sunset was a spectacle for him. His only sense of calm. How did he even become a knight? He should be a noble like his father was.

But thanks to the thieves, nothing like that ever happened.

He was young. Weak. Why was he one of the survivors if he was weak? His father had said only the strong survive. A vision of fire flashed in his mind and he flinched. Sometimes he wished he could forget those days.

But those days are what drove him on.

"Sesshomaru?" A faint voice called.

"Yes?" He called back.

"Have you seen my crown?"

He smiled inside. The youngest, Prince Shippo, was quite a forgetful little boy. He also looked nothing like his brothers, which was odd, the knight realized. Though he wouldn't question it.

"I'm sure it's in there." He stepped into the room, doing his duty as a knight to make sure that the three princes were happy. He was annoyed though; this was servant's work.

Then again, Sesshomaru was one of the only few that Prince Shippo actually talked to.

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Sango ran a long ways. It was dark when she reached the castle. The guards in front wouldn't let her in, not believing what she said about having something of Sesshomaru's. So she decided to go in the hard way.

She crouched inside a square hedge, the leaves tickling her skin. Knights were patrolling. The drawbridge was closed.

How the hell was she going to get in?

She gulped. It was a long shot, but...

Sango jumped into the moat and swam, hoping there weren't any gators in it.

But she heard other splashing.

Shit.

She swam faster and faster, hoping to find a little break in the wall along the castle. How could she even see a pitch-dark moat? Maybe the alligators were already on her trail. She cursed over and over in her head, feeling against the wall for a loose stone or something she could crawl into.

She was lucky that she even found an opening. And right when she was about to breathe in water, too. Her head reached the surface and she breathed in deeply. Blinking, she found the place she was in murky and fungus filled. She could barely see, but the scent of rotting meat and horrible BO overwhelmed her nose. Small torches were lit on walls ahead. Chains and other torture devices filled the walls and she could see cells up ahead.

The dungeon, she realized.

Sango gulped. She'd never been in a dungeon before. Stories and rumor floated around, but they weren't as gruesome as seeing the real thing. Skeletons and that smell... the rotting corpses and the men so close to death that they-

Moans and cries came from all over. She bit her lip as she walked. How she hasn't dug her way in a cell was a mystery to her. Men in the cells were skinnier than the child she had saved. They were like zombies. No. Worse than that. They weren't even dead yet. They probably begged for the cloaked skeleton to come with his blade.

But all the cries directed attention towards her.

"Hey!" She heard the whistle of a guard and she found herself fighting against three brutes, all in that same shining armor she saw on that one silver-haired man. She gulped again and took her blade out. Looks like she had to fight.

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"This is bad."

"Yes, I realize that."

"You don't hafta be so mean!"

"Yeah, be nice to him!"

"Shut up," replied Koga. Apparently, their father, the King, had summoned all of them for a meeting. Their father had left, leaving Prince Shippo, Miroku, and Koga sitting at the long table. Sesshomaru stood near the door, able to hear every word.

"So she just upped and left," sighed Shippo. "But she was so nice, too."

"You think every girl is nice," huffed Koga.

"A trait he gets from his elder brother," Miroku winked. Shippo and Koga both rolled their eyes. "So Sesshomaru," he glanced at the knight who looked out the window. "This girl has the locket?" The knight nodded, his lip twitching. "A thief, no less." He sighed. "Is she pretty?" Sesshomaru almost fell over.

Was this girl pretty?

He couldn't help but remember that smirk. It almost made his blood boil. And the scent he smelled when he sensed they were being followed... it was downright-

"I take your silence as a 'she's more than hot'." Miroku grinned. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at him.

A man stumbled into the room. "There's an intruder in the dungeon!"

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Sango ran, trying to wipe the blood off of her blade so she wouldn't leave a trail. She was glad she didn't kill anyone, just left them on the ground crying in pain clutching their "happy" place. She grinned and ran, hoping to run into-

BLAM!

She fell on her rear, and looked up.

"Oh! Mr. Knight! I've looked everywhere for you!" She breathed, trying to catch her breath after running from those maniacs. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened a bit.

"The... thief..."

"Yeah! The thief!" She grinned and dug through her pockets and held out his locket. "I came to return it."

"Did you look in it?" She frowned, a guilty look on her face. She nodded. "Then you know what this is?" She nodded again. "Then you can't leave here." Her head shot up.

"Excuse me?"

"The walls have ears. Spies are all around. If you told anyone, they'd know. And we can't have that. Were you the intruder I've been alerted of?"

"But I don't-

"You're staying. A cell should be good enough for you." She shook her fist at him.

"Look! Knight or not, I wanna know what's going on! If you're not even gonna let me go home-

"Well, well, well. So, Sesshoumaru, who's the little spitfire?" Both the thief and the knight looked over to see someone smiling at them in an amused fashion.

"Hn?" Sango squeaked. There stood a man about her age, tall, dark, and handsome in a silk vest and a long sleeved shirt under that. The pants seemed to match his vest and the boots he wore were shiny and new. He wore a small crown on the top of his head and held a huge golden staff about as tall as he was. She should have called it a scepter. His violet eyes flashed in a boyish fashion and a small ponytail draped the nape of his neck.

"No one," Sesshomaru replied evenly.

"Doesn't look like 'no one'," he grinned and circled the girl. He gave out a low whistle. "She's fine." Sesshomaru saw Sango twitch and knew what she was gonna do next.

"Thief, no-

WHAM!

"-Great."

"Hmph!" Sango replied,cracking her knuckles. "Who does this guy think he is?" Sesshomaru glanced at the prince on the floor. A huge lump rested on his head. His crown was cracked. He had little swirls for eyes.

This girl could punch.

"That was the prince." He almost laughed as he saw the girl pale. Her eyes had gone wide and her mouth was wide open. The cursing she did in her head was so loud even he could hear them.

"Y-you're kidding." She almost laughed hysterically. "F-fuck."

"You could be sentenced to death," the demon knight smirked cockily.

"But...!" Sango clenched her fists.

"It's up to him," Sesshomaru pointed to the floor.

"Yeh, it's up to me." Miroku replied at her neck.

Sango jumped. "Wha? How-?"

"How about a date to make it all up?" He grinned. Sango and Sesshomaru both flinched.

"I'd rather die!" "You're engaged, remember?" The two said at the same time. The girl was losing her cool as Sesshoumaru remained in his.

"Oh yeah... But she ran away." Sango blinked. That was who they were talking about back on the dirt road. The prince spotted the locket in Sango's hands. "You realize what that is?" Sango looked down at the locket and opened it. Inside it sat a pale, purplish little round jewel.

"Yes, I know what this is. It's a very powerful little thing: able to protect this whole region from any powerful spells and curses, able to reflect it back at them. Whoever wields it gains so much power, humans surpass demons and demons themselves can become god." She replied. "And that's why I came to return it."

"Very humble," the prince turned to Sesshomaru. "I thought you said she was a thief."

"I did. "I am." They said in unison once more.

"You know if you had sold this, you'd be wealthier than all the kingdoms in this land combined? Maybe you could have become a god?" Sango nodded. The prince smiled. "Well, you wouldn't have gotten anything for that fake jewel." The two looked at him just as the jewel turned black and broke. "You see? A spell. Sesshomaru let this girl have one of the best rooms. No. Forget that. Let her share yours." The two others flinched. "All..." He paused and counted his fingers, "four of us will leave first thing in the morning."

"Four?" Sesshomaru paused. "You don't mean-

"We're going to go and find my bride-to-be!" Miroku laughed and walked off. Once he was out of hearing distance, his face grew serious. "She took more than that damned jewel..." He put a hand on his other one and walked down the corridor and into his room.

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The knight sighed while the thief just stood in confusion.

"Sesshoumaru, what did he mean?"

"I'll escort you to your room. You will not share mine." He replied, ignoring her inquires. She opened her mouth to yell back at him, but he seemed defeated already. Looks like he can't rebel against royalty. Sango spared him the trouble and nodded, treaded after him. "You'll need to get ready. I'll discuss with the prince when we leave tomorrow morning. I'm sure you'll awaken before he does. Head back to your village when you do and gather your supplies."

"Supplies?" The girl chimed. "I have everything I own on me right now." A lightbulb seemed to trigger in her brain. "Except that coin purse you stole from me! Give it back."

"Hn?" He didn't even look back at her, just opened a door for her and told her to go in. "I suppose I dropped that in the streets along somewhere. I don't have it." She could have punched him. All that work for nothing. She whipped her hair in his face as she strode into her room.

"Good night." She slammed the door in his face for good measure, and slumped onto a cushioned bed. Tomorrow wouldn't be the best day of her life, she figured, but it beat having to huddle up in an alley at night. She wondered how in the world fate brought her into a quest to find one of the most powerful trinkets of the century.

_Oh yeah_, her face twisted into an annoyed expression.

_Him._

Where did I come up with this stuff when I was younger? o_o Jesus, I mean- have I really lost all my creative juices now? This is just sad! I don't want to lose my mind.

Kouga and Miroku are princes.

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are knights.

Sango's a thief.

Let's see what happens with the others


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